Bank Holds Interest Rates at 4.75%; Ballooning Global Trade Deficit May Prompt Reassessment of When Cycle Is Likely to Peak

Summary

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THE Bank of England yesterday held UK base rates at 4.75%, as the pound tumbled on news of a burgeoning global goods trade deficit fuelled by record imports.

National Statistics' trade figures revealed the UK had been a net importer of oil for the first time in 13 years in July, to the tune of (pounds) 61m. Oil played a big part in the overall deterioration of the trade picture in July, when goods imports surged from an upwardly-revised (pounds) 20.5bn in June to a monthly record of (pounds) 20.8bn.

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Extract

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Bank Holds Interest Rates at 4.75%; Ballooning Global Trade Deficit May Prompt Reassessment of When Cycle Is Likely to Peak

The UK's overall global goods trade deficit consequently jumped from an upwardly-revised (pounds) 5.06bn in June to (pounds) 5.16bn in ...

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